Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5 - anyone??

[a.black]

I must admit, GAS has me. 😀 Since I'm now getting rid off of all my autofucos-eos-stuff, I want (no i must) reinvest into a new glass for my R. I allready love my 35mm Ultron, but I'm also a big fan of 50mm. The Skopar looks nice, is small and I don't need it any faster.
So I just wanted to know what kind of expieriences you guys have with the lens. I guess it is as good as any of the CV-lenses, but I kinda want to make sure. 😀

P.S.
Can I sue Leica or Voigtlander because of GAS?? I mean people sue McD for getting fat?? :bang: 😀

 

[phototone]

I can't speak for the Skopar, however i own a used 50mm f1.5 Nokton and it is a cracking good lens., and a good match for the 35mm Ultron. And it is relatively cheap, can't be beat. Its a treat, beat your feet, swift and fleet.

 

[lkgroup]

I use to have a Skopar but I sold it because i also had the 50 1.5 Nokton. I needed the speed and ever though I carried the 2.5 skopar quite often because of its small size I finally couldn't justifiy having both. It was a good lens and was a good match for my Leica IIIc but I finally got a retro (time period appropriate) lens for that camera.

Leo

 

[sockeyed]

Unless you're set on getting a small lens, I wouldn't hesitate to pay an extra $40 and get the 50/1.5 Nokton

 

[Bob B]

Or you can go the route I did -- get the 50mm/1.5 Nokton AND get a decent cheap Jupiter 8 ($40 from Fedka).

Mind you the Nokton blocks some of the viewfinder on the Bessa.

 

[Dan Chang]

It is a fine lens with very plesant backgroud OFF. very light and well build, I did not buy 50/1.5 because the size - it looks funny on Leica IIIf

 

[a.black]

Ahhh have to withstand tempation. dont get nokton. ahhh.

The Size I think is the main reason for me to go for the 2.5, and if it does not block the viewfinder like my Ultron does, the better. The Ultron covers the lowlight pretty good. Also discovered that with a rangefinder there is a decent world below 1/30s. But thanks for your input, you all sound like salespersonnel form VC or CameraQuest ;-).

 

[Doug]

...I'm also a big fan of 50mm. The Skopar looks nice, is small and I don't need it any faster.
So I just wanted to know what kind of expieriences you guys have with the lens. I guess it is as good as any of the CV-lenses, but I kinda want to make sure. 😀

Hi -- Some time back this was said to be the single most popular CV lens in the Japan market. It doesn't seem to be very common among RFF members though. After I saw a lot of great shots made by a Norwegian member of the CVUG list, I was encouraged to buy a used one.

There's been some confusion over this lens, with some early owners using the word "soft" to describe its properties, then clarifying they didn't mean unsharp. But it's not a soft lens in the common sense used when describing lenses; there that's usually not a good thing! I finally decided what had been meant was "gentle"; that the lens did not have that hard wire-sharpness that we see in some modern lenses. The Skopar has a more classic and pleasant sort of sharpness. And just a bit of pincushion distortion that I find a little surprising for a recent 7-element lens design.

This lens is very well made, similar in construction to the f/3.5 28mm, very solid and smooth.

I uploaded some test shots made with the 50 Skopar to my RFF Gallery. If you sort my gallery by filename, they'll be grouped closely on page 9 of 10. The titles of each one starts with "50/2.5". Several of the test shots come in pairs, with each second pic being a 100% scale crop of a part of the first. Here's a sample below... and a link to the ever-popular Juice Bar Lady:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/pho...cat=3076&page=9&sortby=f&sorttime=all&way=asc

 

[rbiemer]

I have one and won't be getting rid of it any time soon. One caveat I will mention:
I just got a Velbon Maxi 347e(?) tripod[the one with the ball-head] and the focus tab on the lens protrudes just enough below the base of the camera to slightly bind as I focus. Only two distances--if the tab is oriented vertically, the corners on it are fine. At about 45 degrees either side of vertical the corners rub a bit on the mounting plate. Likely not a problem with another head and certainly something I don't lose any sleep over.
I was concerned about the shade--it's tiny--but so far no problems there!
One other thing, I've noticed that the Bessa r with shorter lenses tilts back when I wear it around my neck. Not with the Skopar. It's heavy enough to let the camera hang leaning slightly forward.
Rob

 

[iDude]

Get the Nokton. There will be a time you'll need the extra stops. Not today and maybe not this year, but the time will come 😉

 

[sockeyed]

Have you considered the venerable Industar-61 (55/2.8) at all? I have the black and chrome version. Build quality is only OK, ergonomics aren't great, but the glass is lovely. It's probably my favourite 50mm right now (I've also got 3 jupiters and a Canon Serenar). They can be had for $10-20 on eBay, sometimes with a Fed 3 attached.

Here are some samples:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sockeyed/38431486/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sockeyed/38431437/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sockeyed/26260445/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sockeyed/42157103/

 

[a.black]

Doug, thanks for the work loading the pictures up. They are very interesting. Thanks for that.
Well, I guess I'll have to think about getting the Nokton a little bit. Probably have to try them out at the dealer.
For the FED, the pictures look really great. I'm sure the lens is marvelous. But I'm getting ebay-phobic, since I wasn't really lucky the last few times. And with a new one, I'll have at least a warrenty and a dealer near by. But thanks too.

 

[Richard Black]

I, too, have been lusting after the 50mm 2.5. I have the 28mm 3.5 and have no problems with needing extra stops. For one, I don't do a lot of low light photography so the extra speed is not needed. I like the small size of the 28 and the 50 2.5 is similar. I have two FSU Jupiter 8 and 3 and both are nice, especially the 8, but the VC kit with the 50 would be the tops for me in traveling.

 

[einolu]

I heard that the skopar was similar to the current leica elmar? Is this true? Do they have similar designs?

 

[richard_l]

I heard that the skopar was similar to the current leica elmar? Is this true? Do they have similar designs?

The Elmar is a Tessar-type lens. I don't know what design the Skopar is, but according to Doug's description, it is very mellow and smooth. The Elmar, like most modern Tessars, is quite crisp and contrasty, so I doubt that it is very similar to the Skopar.

 

[wlewisiii]

"Compact 50/2.5, 7 elements in 6 groups, 39mm filter size, f/2.5 to 22" according to Mr. Gandy's web page. IIUC, that would make it a Sonnar influenced Planar design as most 50mm lenses since the 1950's seem to be.

William

 

[Doug]

I wish I were better at seeing and reporting lens character, maybe like Erwin Puts. I think it's pretty clear the Skopar is not optically related to the Elmar. And I've never had an Elmar, but just going by what others have said, it's possible the Skopar shares some similarities in the "look". Yeah, the Skopar is mellow and smooth, but it's sharp too... just smoothly sharp rather than harshly sharp.

I know one can't really assess sharpness from an uploaded scan, but here's one from the 50mm Skopar, wide open or nearly so, full frame, reduced from a 3000x2000 pixel scan, that might reveal a little of the lens's character and the smooth look of its bokeh...

Edit: I've added a crop out of the full-size 3000x2000 pixel original scan, for closer examination.

 

[bmicklea]

Strange, I'd read in a few places that the 50 Skopar was a pretty poor lens but all the pics that have been uploaded have looked great. It does seem to have a Sonnar-like quality that reminds me of my J8, smooth and creamy.

Brad

 

[einolu]

thanks,

🙂

 

[terrafirmanada]

Thanks for those I-61 shots. Mine just arrived today. If my negatives come out like these examples I WILL BE STOKED.